Contextual inquiry: how to plan, execute and analyse a site visit

Overview

Field studies are invaluable when you need to understand first-hand how users work or behave, the kinds of tasks users carry out and the variety of environments in which users operate. Real-world observation provides insights that user self reports or surveys can't provide - often because users can't explain what they are doing or because their behaviour is so practised that users can't articulate how they work.

But carrying out a field study has a number of difficulties. How do you select the right users? When should you observe and when should you ask questions? How do you collect observational data and how do you analyse it to improve your design?

Printable pdf course description for this seminar

This seminar is aimed at

This course is for you if you are part of a design team that wants to develop a new software application or that wants to identify new features for an existing application. This is a hands-on course and is most effective for delegates who have day-to-day responsibility for product design.

You will learn how to

• Collect rich, detailed data that will help you gain a holistic view of users and their tasks.
• Learn how to project a professional image to clients and customers.
• Target the right kind of users for potential site visits.
• Develop field study forms and checklists to quickly and accurately record observations.
• Practise techniques like KJ Analysis to quickly analyse observational data.

Duration

This course lasts one day.

About your trainer

This seminar is led by Dr. David Travis who has over 20 years experience in the field of user centred design.

Course Schedule

There are no scheduled dates for this course. If you want us to run this seminar as a public course, click on the button below. Once we get 8 like-minded individuals we'll organise a public course and let you know.

In-house training

We can bring this course to you and run it for a fixed fee no matter where you are. Prices from £150/delegate + VAT (assuming 12 delegates).